Month: January 2021

Come Follow Me

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 Today we read about the day that Christ called to Simon and Andrew, saying: “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers of people.”

Christ called to these men, and they immediately dropped what they were doing to follow Him. His command was that compelling. 

Imagine looking upon the face of Jesus as He beckons you. Imagine hearing His voice tell you to come. What an immense gift those men were given.

We don’t have the benefit of a flesh-and-blood Jesus standing in front of us commanding us to follow Him. We cannot hear His voice directly tell us what He wants. Yet, His command to us is the same as the command He gave to those men 2,000 years ago. He calls us each by name to follow Him. He tells us we are His. Why? Simply put, He loves us. And His love for us is so immense that we can only fathom it. God longs for us to drop everything and to run to Him, proclaiming His goodness and vowing to give everything we have to serve Him. He longs for us to show this joy to others so that they, too, can see His glory.

However, we know that this is easier said than done, especially in today’s world. Sometimes we find that life gets in the way. Our jobs, the little things we must do to keep a household running, even our families—all these things are blessings in and of themselves, but they can also serve as distractions. These things can keep us from dropping everything and running to the arms of the Lord—even metaphorically. And they can keep us from teaching others about Christ’s goodness and mercy. 

Yet God is always there gently reminding us that He has called us and that we are to be fishers of men, just like the Apostles. He wants each and every one of us to bravely and proudly follow Him and to lead our families, our neighbors, and those in our community to Him. 

We must always remember that being a fisher of men is an important part of our faith, for we were not meant to hide our faith away. We were not meant to pray in isolation. We were not meant to simply go to Mass once a week and do nothing else for God. We are called to model Christ’s love and to be examples to others. It is by these actions that we will lead others to Christ, and it is our inner joy that will attract others. When we heed the call to truly follow Christ and to serve Him in all we do, we will indeed fulfill His calling to be fishers of men. 

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Susan Ciancio has a BA in psychology and a BA in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, with an MA in liberal studies from Indiana University. For the past 17 years, she has worked as a professional editor and writer, editing both fiction and nonfiction books, magazine articles, blogs, educational lessons, professional materials and website content. Eleven of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently Susan freelances and writes weekly for HLI, edits for American Life League, and is the editor of Celebrate Life Magazine. She also serves as executive editor for the Culture of Life Studies Program-an educational nonprofit program for K-12 students.

Feature Image Credit: Gonzalo Gutierrez, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/16867-sigueme

St. Theodosius the Cenobiarch: Saint of the Day for Monday, January 11, 2021

Abbot and founder. Born at Garissus, Cappadocia (modern Turkey), in 423, he undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and after meeting with the famed St. Simeon Stylites, he entered a monastery. Later, he was named the head of a church between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, but departed to live as a hermit near the Dead Sea. As he attracted a large number of followers, Theodosius established a monastery which was divided among the various nationalities of the monks (Greek, Armenian, etc.), each with …

Act of Desire: Prayer of the Day for Monday, January 11, 2021

My soul, the happy hour is arrived;
Jesus comes to dwell in my poor heart.
Behold the King of heaven,
thy Redeemer and thy God,
coming to thee;
prepare thyself to receive Him with love;
say to Him with the most ardent desire:
Come, O my Jesus,
come to me:
I desire to receive Thee,
before Thou dost give Thyself to me,
I desire to give Thee my miserable heart;
accept it,
come and take full possession of it.
Come, my God, make haste;
do not delay.
I would wish to …

The Baptism of the Lord

Reading I Is 42:1-4, 6-7

Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

OR:

Is 55:1-11

Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread,
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of nations,
so shall you summon a nation you knew not,

and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth 
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
    give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
    adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
    the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
    the voice of the LORD is majestic. 
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
    and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
    the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

OR:

Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

R. (3)  You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
    I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
    and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
    at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
    among the nations make known his deeds,
      proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
    let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
    for great in your midst
    is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Reading II Acts 10:34-38

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying: 
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites 
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, 
what has happened all over Judea, 
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached, 
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good 
and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 
for God was with him.”

OR:

1 Jn 5:1-9

Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.

Alleluia Cf. Jn 1:29

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John saw Jesus approaching him, and said:
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 1:7-11

This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: 
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water; 
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee 
and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open 
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens, 
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

– – –

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Baptism Equips for Mission

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Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Confusingly, this happened when Jesus was an adult, and not as a child. So why does the church celebrate it here at the end of the Christmas season?

Before Jesus began his public ministry (his preaching, miracles, gathering disciples, etc.) he went to the Jordan River. His cousin John was there baptizing many people. Baptism was a ritual of repentance, and a ritual of death and new life. You cleanse your body with water on the outside, and commit to a new life on the inside. There were also many examples in the Old Testament of the whole people of Israel being “baptized” through the actions of the Lord himself (Noah and his family surviving the flood, the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea out of Egypt, Joshua leading the people over the Jordan into Israel, etc.). This time, John was preaching for people to prepare themselves for something big. There was a Messiah coming, a savior for their people. 

Along comes Jesus, who wants to get baptized too. Needless to say, John knows who Jesus is. In the account from Matthew’s gospel, John the Baptist tells him, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus replies, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:14-15 NABRE). 

What does he mean? Why would Jesus want to get baptized, if he doesn’t need to repent of anything? I think we need to look at Jesus’ mission. To sum it up briefly: God the Son became man, that man might become God. So, in order to fully unite himself to humanity, in order to be like us in all things but sin, Jesus undergoes this ritual. Jesus humbles himself, and fully embraces his humanity. And this, friends, is why we celebrate this feast in the same season as Christ’s birth. Both the feast of the Nativity and the Baptism of the Lord highlight the humility of Jesus. In both places, he clearly displayed his desire to become one with us, so that he can raise us up with him.

So how can we live out this feast day? I think the key is to remember that Jesus is one with us now! We are the body of Christ. The equipping and the anointing that He received at His baptism is ours now as well! Jesus actually received two things at His baptism: He received the anointing of the Holy Spirit AND he received the love of the Father. “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”. In our lives, we need to humble ourselves like Jesus did, we need to know and acknowledge the love of our Father (and therefore know our identity as sons and daughters of God) and receive the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. And as the second reading in 1 John says, there will also be a baptism of blood. The Lord will call us, like Christ, to sacrifice. All of these will equip us for OUR mission and public ministry on earth.

Songs for Reflection:

I See Heaven – Bryan and Katie Torwalt

Open up the Heavens – Meredith Andrews

Holy Spirit – Bryan and Katie Torwalt

All Who Are Thirsty – Brenton Brown

Glory in the Highest – Chris Tomlin

Prepare the Way – Charlie Hall

Joy (Unspeakable Joy) – Chris Tomlin

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Brendan is just your average Millennial hipster: He likes playing guitar, throwing frisbees, sipping whiskey, and grooming his beard. But he also has a passion for walking with teens and young Christ-followers, hearing every person’s story, and waking up the Church. Brendan works at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Lenexa, Kansas (near Kansas City) as a Youth Music Minister, fusing together his two loves of sharing Christ and sharing the power and need for good and beautiful contemporary praise. https://www.instagram.com/brendanbeardo/

Feature Image Credit: Didgeman, https://pixabay.com/photos/church-window-baptism-sacrament-1016443/

St. William of Bourges: Saint of the Day for Sunday, January 10, 2021

William Berruyer, of the illustrious family of the ancient counts of Nevers, was educated by Peter the hermit, archdeacon of Soissons, his uncle by the motherÂ?s side. He learned from his infancy to despise the folly and emptiness of the riches and grandeur of the world, to abhor its pleasures, and to tremble at its dangers. His only delight was in exercises of piety and in his studies, in which he employed his whole time with indefatigable application. He was made canon, first of Soissons, and …

Do We Trust?

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I always like to read through the entire reading for the day and pray through it a little before writing a reflection. Well today, the line that stood out the most was right at the beginning. “We have this confidence in Him.” I immediately thought to myself, do I?

Do we have confidence in God? Through all the things that have happened in our world do we still have confidence that God has a plan, or do we want to try to forge our own path. I know there were many times in 2020 where I wanted to take over the driver seat and do my own thing because things didn’t seem like they would work out any other way. But then I heard that simple line from the First Reading and am faced with the question. Do I really have confidence in him?

As 2021 begins I think this is the most important question we can ask ourselves. We have no idea what is going to come our way in 2021 and although we should be smart and plan as much as we can, we also at some point have to put down the reigns and trust that God loves us, that he wants what is truly best for us, that he has a plan to get us there, and that he has power to get it done.

If the past couple years has shown me anything about the world it has shown me that we tend to think we can get through everything on our own and God is only petitioned when it’s the really big stuff. And then we put him back in the closet of our hearts and try to endure through life until the next big thing comes. What would happen if we trusted him with the big and the small? Not just one moment but with every moment? I think this has the power to change our year for the better.

I would encourage you to take just a few moments to ask yourself that important question. Do I have confidence in him? And then be bold and ask great things and expect miracles. From all of us here at Rodzinka Ministry, God Bless!

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Tommy Shultz is the Founder/Director of Rodzinka Ministry and the Director of Faith Formation for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith. Contact Tommy at tommy@rodzinkaministry.com or check out his website at rodzinkaministry.com.

Feature Image Credit: Dave Lowe, https://unsplash.com/photos/nRNsIl1NH9Y

St. Adrian, Abbot: Saint of the Day for Saturday, January 09, 2021

Born in Africa, Adrian became abbot of the monastery at Nerida, near Naples. He declined an appointment as archbishop of Canterbury, but accompanied St. Theodore to England when the latter was appointed Archbishop. Theodore appointed him Abbot of SS. Peter and Paul Monastery (later changed to St. Augustine’s) in Canterbury, and during his thirty-nine years’ abbacy, the monastery became renowned as a center of learning. He died on January 9 in Canterbury, and his tomb soon became famous for the …

Prayer for Students: Prayer of the Day for Saturday, January 09, 2021

Under thy patronage, dear Mother, and calling on the mystery of thine Immaculate Conception, I desire to pursue my studies and my literary labors: I hereby solemnly declare that I am giving myself to these studies chiefly to the following end: that I may the better contribute to the glory of God and to the promotion of thy veneration among men. I pray thee, therefore, most loving Mother, who art the Seat of Wisdom, to bless my labors in thy loving-kindness. Moreover I promise with true …